Vernon Davis says 49ers’ new offense is TE friendly — and flexible

Like his quarterback, 49ers tight end Vernon Davis has a different offensive playbook for every season he’s been in the NFL.

Suffice to say, he likes the latest version.

“This offense is going to be pretty good for the tight end,’’ Davis said after coming off the practice field Thursday. “We don’t just have one way to go. That’s good. We’ve never had that since I’ve been here.”

Davis noted that new coach Jim Harbaugh is a former NFL quarterback, while his previous head coaches – Mike Nolan and Mike Singletary – came from the defensive side.

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That’s why Davis said for the first time he’ll be operating within an offense that gives tight ends freedom and flexibility against a specific defense. In previous years, he said, he and tight end Delanie Walker were instructed to run to certain areas against zone coverage and wait for the ball. Opponents recognized as much and had a safety waiting for them.

“It’s good for me and Delanie because it gives us a chance to really get out of it. We don’t have to run up and just sit right there – especially in zone coverage – as the (safety) comes down,’’ he said. “We can run out of the zone. We can sit. We just have the flexibility – that’s what we needed. More options.”

Davis is coming off a season in which he had 56 catches for 914 yards and seven touchdowns – a nice season but a big comedown from his breakout Pro Bowl season of (78-965-13.)

He’ll have to wait for the lockout to be over to find out precisely where he fits in Harbaugh’s plan. But Davis said he is encouraged by the progress at Camp Alex II, the second round of informal practices at San Jose State this week organized by quarterback Alex Smith.

“I see him evolving as a leader. He knows he’s on his last (straw),’’ the tight end said. “He has some competition and he has to get things done. This is what everyone likes to see in Alex.

“That’s the guy who leads the team. We follow behind him. That’s all we’ve been looking for is someone to follow behind.”

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Left tackle Joe Staley told The Mercury News on Thursday that reports declaring Eric Heitmann out for the season are premature. “I’m not under the impression that he is out for the year. I don’t know where all the reports of six months came from,’’ Staley said “I talked to him; he hasn’t been told six months — maybe that’s the prognosis for an 80 year old man getting that surgery.”

(Thanks to new Mercury News teammate Daniel Bohm for that quote.)

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Receiver Michael Crabtree continues to be limited in practice as he takes a cautious route with an ailing foot. Teammates have said that the receiver had trouble with cleats during a practice earlier this month, but Davis indicated it was more than just typical soreness.

“I think there’s something seriously wrong with his foot. He’ll be ready once camp rolls around. But I think he’s staying off of it,’’ Davis said.

Are you kidding me with that statement about Davis ? He was the one who said he wanted the Niners to sign McNabb !
Every player will and should support Alex because he is the starting QB for the short term.But lets not get carried away ,we all know Davis and the other receivers would rather have a better QB than Alex getting the ball to them on target and on time,so they can make plays and can get their incentive bonus’ and get bigger contracts next time.

Daniel Brown

Hi, Tim. Davis did indeed say it would be “outstanding” to catch passes from McNabb. He said so on Jan. 11, when the future of the 49ers QB situation looked very much in doubt. Mostly, though, he has been very vocal in support of Smith.

snsf49loyal

Although Jury is still out on Alex Smith I feel that the results would be better under this head coach, specifically with the offense. This coach is not those two morons who systematically destroyed the system. At JH will try bring the “49er legacy” back to the niners. Go Niners!

WTF

Finally, TIM gets shut down by the moderator! It’s ok TIM, we know how much of an Alex hater you already are so no need to rehash every time his name gets brought up. Try and take deep breaths when you hear his name. It’s good to be fired up for your team. I like that type of dedication. Let’s just try and be fair about all the anger, though. When a team loses, it’s because all 53 players contributed. When Alex throws more touchdowns than interceptions like he did last year, it means he can play the position. At a high caliber playoff level? I doubt it but he could prove us all wrong. I hope he proves all his haters wrong. Jim Harbaugh seems to think he will. I would have to say Jim knows quarterbacks pretty well.

Constantine

Ooo, TIM got pawned by the mod. Well done, Dan!

Leonard Bonilla

Unless the Lock Out ends within the next two weeks I am not confident anything good will happen for the Niners. Even if the season gets started there won’t be time for this team to adjust to Harbaugh, his offense and his defense. If they are simply respectful on the field that will be a plus.

RKO52

Staley said “I talked to him; he hasn’t been told six months — maybe that’s the prognosis for an 80 year old man getting that surgery.”

An 80 year old man would only have to take six months off from playing pro football? I did not know that.